Campus Life: Cincinnati; Students Get A Taste of Life In a Wheelchair

Published: February 10, 1991

CINCINNATI—
Physical therapy majors at the University of Cincinnati put themselves in the wheelchairs of their future patients last week.

Sixteen sophomores in the University College Physical Therapy Assisting Program took to the downtown streets on Thursday and Friday to learn what life is like for people with disabilities.

"The students have organized this project," said Sylvia Pacholder, the program's coordinator, "because they know that if they are to be effective professionals, they must genuinely appreciate the frustrations and challenges of those trying to function every day" while using a wheelchair.

Students navigated around Riverfront Stadium, Riverfront Park, the Movies Repertory Cinema and several fast-food restaurants. Fears and Frustrations

Students said they learned some of the fears and frustrations that people with disabilites face daily, including not being able to reach public telephones or operate water fountains with foot pedals. They also discovered that rough pavement, cobblestone walkways and railroad tracks presented the most difficulties in maneuvering the wheelchairs.

"The public sees people in wheelchairs as obstacles that they have to get around," said one student, Colleen Gumbert of Cincinnati. "They don't realize that everything is an obstacle when you're in a wheelchair."

Photo: Physical therapy majors at the University of Cincinnati learned first hand about the frustration and challenges a handicapped person faces every day when using a wheelchair. Noel Ramey, foreground, tried to maneuver her wheelchair through a doorway as Mary Suttschenko waited her turn (Mark Lyons for The New York Times).